Lap band surgery does get in the news, but conclusions aren’t always so positive as those found in the June 6, 2013 MedPageToday article, Mildly Obese Can Benefit From Gastric Band (medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Obesity/39672). Apparently, those with a BMI between 30 to 35 were able to significantly reduce health risks and also lose an impressive amount of weight. However, Lap Band Surgery’s Dr. Joseph Naim warns patients that lap band surgery can’t heal everything, and that the surgery aspect takes some thought and risk assessment.

Some of the MedPageToday information is found in many studies, such as the fact that weight loss tends to also reduce diabetes, heart and lung problems, and even depression. One of the more impressive points made by the research team was that first-year weight loss ranged between 50 to over 78 pounds. Other positive points included reductions of co-morbidities, or significant threats to a patient’s life span, by up to and beyond 90%, a year after lap band surgery. The study was a review of six separate studies, and over 75% of the study participants were female.

It’s worth pointing out, mentioned Lap Band Surgery Center’s Dr. Naim, that most of the studies mentioned on MedPageToday didn’t cover follow-up information on lap band patients beyond a few years. One study did show an increasing average weight loss of over 65 pounds by year four, and over 71 pounds of weight loss by year five, but the other five studies didn’t have follow-up information after year three. Most patients tend to keep on the lap band far beyond three years post-surgery.

Of course, there were some complications – even an outpatient surgery such as lap band is still a surgery. Out of 515 patients in the six studies mentioned by MedPageToday, one person had a wound infection, 20 people had issues with the gastric band slipping off or out of place, and two had to get the lap band removed because it had eroded. Seven patients were discovered to have solution leaks from the lap band ports. A sepsis infection resulted in one death, almost two years after surgery, because the stomach pouch had been perforated. This study concluded that lap band surgery was relatively safe, because less than 35 people out of 515 (or less than 6%) had significant difficulties.

This would be a reason for physicians to detail the possible complications, risks, and hurdles to overcome in engaging in lap band surgery. If patients aren’t warned about what to expect and how to prepare for the installation of a lap band such as the need for follow-up meetings and band adjustments as weight comes off it may be a shock that bands don’t just take care of themselves. Also, notes Dr. Naim, it’s preferable for patients to have tried other means of weight loss before making a move toward gastric banding, because it’s a surgical commitment and lifestyle change.

Since 2004, Dr. H. Joseph Naim, head of the Lap Band Surgery Center of Southern California, has specialized in laparoscopic weight loss surgeries, including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and LAP-BAND

Get ready for the IRS to play a major role in health care. According to Patrick Temple-West and Kim Dixon in a June 7 Reuters report, when the Affordable Care Act takes full effect in 2014, the IRS will enforce most of the laws involved in the reform. Their jurisdiction will include collecting taxes, levying penalties, and deciding who gets included in the health-care mandate.

According to Wertz & Co., an Orange County accounting firm, one of the biggest changes for employers will be the provision that requires them to pay an excise tax if they dont offer health insurance to employees. To avoid paying this tax, employers will need to understand all the ramifications of this new play or pay rule.

Employers that already offer healthcare coverage to their employees might assume the tax wont apply to them, said Russell Wertz, CEO of Wertz & Co. However, the complexity of the rules could cause some to be subject to the tax, even if they offer health insurance to employees. To avoid this outcome, employers need to get familiar with the rules, review their health insurance policies, and determine the full impact of the regulation on their businesses.

Under the play or pay rule, employers that have 50 or more full-time employees and do not offer health care coverage will be required to pay an excise tax of $ 2,000 per year, per full-time employee. One key to avoiding the tax is understanding how the IRS defines full-time employee. According to the law, any worker that averages 30 or more hours per week for any month is considered full-time employee. However, there are a number of guidelines to consider when defining full-time employees, and employers need to be well-versed in all aspects of this law.

The regulations also require employers to offer coverage to 95% or more of full-time employees. Employers that slip below this threshold will be assessed the full tax even if they offer coverage to a majority of full-time employees.

The tax is assessed on a monthly basis, so it is possible for employers to avoid the tax in some months but not others. The IRS will calculate and assess the tax without self-reporting by employers. As a result, employers will not be able to ignore the rule and its resulting tax.

There are some exemptions to the tax. Factors affecting these exemptions include an employees decision to purchase or not purchase insurance through a state or federal exchange, and whether an employees overall household income qualifies them for a credit or subsidy. Because these factors are beyond their control, employers should not count on qualifying for an exemption. To avoid the excise tax, employers need to understand the IRS rules, especially in regards to what constitutes a full-time employee.

Employers may choose to simply eliminate health coverage and pay the excise tax. However, they should carefully consider the financial and workforce ramifications before embarking on such an approach. For example, tax payments may not be taken as a deduction on the companys income tax return.

Some employers might downplay their tax risks because the basic rules seem simple, added Wertz. However, the risks associated with falling into the 95% threshold trap are too great to take chances. We strongly recommend that employers study the rules and implement the proper administrative procedures to stay in compliance with the law. Otherwise, they can end up paying significant penalties they didnt think would apply to their company.

About Wertz & Company

Wertz & Company is an Orange County accounting firm that specializes in working with entrepreneurs and business owners along their journey to success. The firm offers accounting, financial planning, estate and wealth management planning, tax preparation, and other management consulting services in a personal, proactive, responsive manner. With a strong commitment to the local community, Wertz & Company contributes to several different charitable endeavors. For more information, visit http://www.wertzco.com.

HotelPlanner.com awards Park Inn by Radisson a top honor as a Best Group Friendly Hotel. To achieve this honor, a hotel must retain a perfect 10 group score on HotelPlanner.com for three consecutive years. The HotelPlanner.com proprietary group score is made up of several key group booking factors. A high group score is best achieved with the following:

1. Lowest group discounted rates compared to individual room rates

2. Fast customer response time

3. Flexible group booking terms including zero or low deposit requirements and cut off dates close to the event date

The Park Inns Director of Sales, Beatrice Gallegos stated, I have been using HotelPlanner for over five years and it has been a great help to get groups in the hotels. HotelPlanner helps out to fill in those last minute empty sleeping rooms or for my weekends. It is so easy to use and it pays off signing up for the preferred membership. Two years ago when I joined The Park Inn by Radisson DFW, I immediately contacted HotelPlanner and it has been a great tool for the hotel.

Janelle Smith, Director of Group Sales for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group added, We are very pleased with how our partnership with HotelPlanner has progressed. It is an honor for the property to be selected.

Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner.com, said, The Park Inn by Radisson DFW South has been a great airport hotel to work with. We have successfully booked a significant number of groups at the hotel. The feedback we get back about their stays is incredible. Whether it is a business meeting, school group, sports team or wedding The Park Inn by Radisson DFW South brings that southern hospitality alive.

HotelPlanner.com helps clients select the right property for their meetings and events by combining technology with a highly experienced staff of professional meeting planners. HotelPlanners staff of professional event planners reviews all hotel offers on a group by group basis to find the best hotel for each group. HotelPlanner.com prides itself on providing the best group hotel rates for all clients. The company provides group travel services to a number of world class organizations, including the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), for 70 universities and colleges plus corporations and government entities. By combining technology and an experienced client focused team, HotelPlanner.com takes pride in providing exceptional service to help clients choose the ideal property at the best price for their group event(s).

The Park Inn by Radisson is located right outside the DFW Airport. It has a lobby bar, restaurant, indoor pool and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. All the amenities you are looking for with a reasonable rate.

To scope out the niche market, Digiarty Software Inc., a fast growing DVD/video/audio software development company, is giving away WinX Mobile Video Converter for Android unlimitedly from Father’s Day to the end of June, 2013. It helps convert MKV, AVI, QuickTime MOV, Blu-ray M2TS and any other videos to HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Google Nexus 7, etc.

With the introduction of this new software, Digiarty has received thousands of new downloads and installations for fast and convenient video conversion and editing. WinX Mobile Video Converter was given away on GOTD for 48 hours earlier this month, but the chance has slipped through many people’s fingers, so the developer just gives out more bounties for a longer period of time at http://www.winxdvd.com/mobile-phone-video-converter/

Android mobiles generally accept MPEG4 and H264 as output formats. However, simply converting incompatible videos to either of the two formats might not match various gadgets, because different portable devices with different screen sizes require different frame rates, resolutions, bit rates and aspect ratios. It’s not surprising for a video converter to support all video sources, but WinX Mobile Video Converter is especially built-in with 200+ profiles, including dozens of Android mobiles, as well as iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Surface, WP8 and Blackberry.

The speed boost enables it to convert videos to mobiles at ultra fast speed. Uniquely, WinX Mobile Video Converter for Android supports importing *.srt files to add extra subtitles from PC to movies and videos; it also has merge and trim features to meet the needs of different users.

“We hope to build a positive buzz through various nonprofit activities.” Explained by Jack, the president and CEO of Digiarty, who sincerely invites all web editors and tech geeks to test, review and share the video converter running on Windows PC.

Price and Availability

Before June 30, WinX Mobile Video Converter that cost $ 49.95 is now totally a freebie. Anyone in need of a fresh Father’s Day gift, please go to the Android mobile converter page, click “Get License Code”, find the registration key, download the exe file and input the key to activate the software before July.2.

KT Tunstall: Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon – review
There was an experiment with a near-electro album in 2010, and that was enough to send KT Tunstall in the opposite direction for this record. The sparse, countrified tone is new for her – it was recorded in Arizona, with Howe Gelb producing – but fits …Read more on The Guardian

In response to a new documentary titled “The Retirement Gamble,” attorney Brendan Little from the law firm of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg LLP has written an article about legal remedies related to excessive 401(k) plan fees. The documentary by author Martin Smith aired on PBS’s Frontline on April 23, 2013 and takes an unflattering look at the retirement savings industry in America.** The documentary has received significant press coverage, mainly, for publicizing the harm done by the fees charged by some service providers to 401(k) plans.***

As the documentary notes, the effect of the fees on an individual’s retirement wealth is staggering. John Bogle, a long-time advocate of low-cost investments and founder of the Vanguard Group, explains on Frontline that a retirement fund with an average growth of 7% will have a balance that is 63% less at the end of a 50-year career if it is subject to a 2% annual fee. Also noted by Frontline, “71 percent of mutual fund savers were not even aware that they were paying any fees at all,” according a recent AARP study.****

Responding to the documentary, Little suggests that “[o]ne option is to have your 401(k) plan reviewed by an attorney that has experience with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) – a federal law that governs employees’ retirement accounts.”

“A significant number of 401(k) participants and their employers have successfully resorted to litigation to recover excessive 401(k) fees… Changing plan service providers or negotiating lower fees can certainly reduce future costs. But neither action will recover excessive fees that have already been paid,” Little says.

“In certain cases, a plan sponsor (employer) may even have a duty under ERISA to seek recovery of any unreasonable fees paid by its employees,” writes Little. A new rule issued last year by the U.S. Department of Labor does require greater disclosures of fees by 401(k) service providers*****. But it also “places the burden of monitoring the fee information contained in these lengthy disclosures squarely back on employers and participants,” according to Little.

The article goes on to explain that while there no bright-line rule, some red flags that might be associated with ERISA-violating 401(k) fees are:

The service provider offers its own funds, or an affiliate’s funds, as investment options;
The annual fees or “expense ratios” of the plan’s investment options are significantly above average for that type of investment – e.g., .77% for mutual funds, .58% for target-date funds, and .12% for index funds******;
The service provider engages in “revenue sharing” agreements in which an investment fund pays back part of its fees to the service provider;
The plan offers few low-cost funds or only actively-managed funds;
The service provider charges “separate account” or “wrap” fees on top of the fees charged by an underlying investment fund;
The plan investment options include “retail” share classes where “institutional” shares, which have lower costs, are available.

Levy Phillips & Konigsberg LLP is a national law firm with experience in ERISA matters, including the recovery of excessive 401(k) plan fees. If you are a 401(k) participant or plan sponsor and concerned about the level of fees charged by your 401(k) plan, contact us at 1-800-988-8005 or by submitting an online inquiry at the firms website at http://www.lpklaw.com for a no-cost consultation about the legal options that may be available to recover or reduce your 401(k) plan fees.

Brendan Little is an attorney licensed in Washington State and an associate at LPK. This article is not legal advice. Attorney advertising: Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
** pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement-gamble/

Formed in 2000 in Burlington, ON Canada, Silverstein has become as close to a household name as you can get in the post-hardcore scene. After 5 full length albums, 3 EP's, a live album, mini album, and numerous 7" singles and collections, Silverstein have sold more than 1 million albums worldwide. The lineup has remained largely the same over their 12 years on the scene and features Shane Told (vocals), Paul Koehler (drums), Josh Bradford (guitar), Billy Hamilton (bass) and Paul-Marc Rousseau (guitar). Silverstein has played more than 1500 shows in 34 countries, and have been a staple on many festivals and tours. They have been a part of Vans Warped Tour, Take Action!, Taste of Chaos, Rock Am Ring (Germany), Soundwave (Australia), Give it a Name (UK), and also co-founded the Scream It Like You Mean It tour in 2010. Since 2003, Silverstein has remained consistent releasing full length albums every 2 years. They burst on the scene with When Broken Is Easily Fixed (2003) which would shape the scene to come with its dynamic approach of mellow clean tones contrasted with screaming and heavily distorted riffs. In 2005, their sophomore and best selling release Discovering The Waterfront was critically and fan acclaimed with more structure and melody, but still keeping the emotion Silverstein had become known for. In 2007, the band worked with legendary producer Mark Trombino and released Arrivals & Departures. Sticking to a more stripped down rock sound that went against the slick sampled tones of many bands at the time, the album had 2 of their biggest songs, and a video in heavy rotation on MTV. 2009 brought back 'Discovering' producer Cameron Webb and a return to the bands early sound with A Shipwreck In The Sand, a high concept album that also tackled some political topics for the first time. The album brought a number of guest vocalists including Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats), Lights, and Scott Wade (Comeback Kid). After a departure from Victory Records in 2010, the band came right back in 2011 with their 5th full length Rescue on indie giant Hopeless Records. With new producer Jordan Valeriote at the helm, the album featured some of the bands best performances and songs ever, with songs like "Forget Your Heart", "Burning Hearts", "The Artist" and "Sacrifice" all being successful singles. Never a band to rest for long, Silverstein also released Short Songs in early 2012, a "mini album" featuring 11 original songs and 11 covers all under 90 seconds long. This release took the band back to their punk rock and hardcore roots and was a huge critical success garnering extremely positive reviews. With a new full length release and lots of touring planned in 2013, SIlverstein shows no signs of slowing down.